Radial-flow steam-turbine engine or motor.



' N0. 66I,l83. Patented Nov. 6, I900.

S. LUUNT.

RADIAL FLOW STEAM TURBINE ENGINE 0R MOTOR.

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

No. 66l,l83. Patented Nov. 6, i900.

- S. LDUNT.

RADIAL FLOW STEAM TURBINE ENGINE 0R MOTOR.

(Application filed Apr. 10; 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheot 2.

{No Model.)

Wiizwsses 24. Z. WM

n1: unnms Parana cu. PNQTQUYHQ. WASHINGTON. c n.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

SAMUEL LOUNT, OF BARBIE, CANADA.

RADlAL FLOW STEAM-TURBINE ENGINE OR MOTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming we of Letters Patent No. 661,183, dated November6, 1 900.

Application filed April 10, 1899- Serial No. 712,558. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, SAMUEL LOUNT, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing in the town of Barrie, in the county of Simcoe andProvince of Ontario, Canada, haveinand the manner of admission, flow,and ex-- haust of the actuating fluid.-

The object of the invention is to devise an economically-working motorin which the velocity of the steam while doing work on the motor shallbe under complete control and the speed of the engine at best efficiencyshall be within practicable limits.

The invention consists of the following construction: To a shaft passingthrough the cas ing of the engine and journaled in bearings at eitherside is attached a disklike driving Wheel, both sides of which areprovided with three or more circular concentric sets of, blades orvanes, the inner ends or bases of which are securely fastened inconcentric grooves channeled in the side faces of the disk. These bladesare preferably stamped out of thin sheet metal and are so formed thatwhen secured in place they will project from the face of the diskparallel to the axis of revo: lotion and be inclined as to their widthsecant to the circle of revolution. each set are of exactly the samelength; but they vary in length in the difierent sets, de creasing orincreasing from the central set outward as requisite to regulate theport area of the various sets, and so control the effluent velocity ofthe steam in its passage between the blades. As the blades are intendedto extend to the face of the casing, (without acrual contact,) thisdecrease or increase in their length is obtained by curving radially theface of the casing toward or from the face of the disk, between whichfaces the blades project. To the curved inner face of the opposite sidesof the casing of the engine are fixed three or more concentric sets ofstationary blades secured in concentric channeled The blades of groovescorresponding in location with the spaces between the sets of blades onthe revolving disk in order that when the parts are assembled inposition the stationary and moving sets of blades will intermesh. Thestationary blades or vanes are made and secured in place in a similarmanner to the moving blades or vanes and project to the face of the disk(but without actual contact therewith) parallel to the axis ofrevolution of the wheel, but inclined as to their width in a directionopposed to the inclination of the moving blades. The intervening spacebetween the sets of stationary blades and between the/ sets of movingblades is sufficient only to allow of the free revolution of the latterwithoutinterference between the parts.

The two sides of the driving-wheel with their blades/4o attached areexact counterparts of each other,-

and the two sides of the casing with their" blades attached are alsocounterparts. this method of construction an engine is ob-,

tained evenly balanced as to the pressure of the actuating fluid andcapable of most efiiciently utilizing the mechanical energy-- of thesteam in its passage through the ens-e gine; but while it is preferableto use still it is not desirable to confine the invention to the aboveconstruction, as primarily the system may be limited by providing oneface of the driving-wheel and the opposed face of the casing with bladesor vanes and admitting the steam to such face only, whereas in the for;increase the steam is admitted sim ultaneously to both faces of thedriving-wheel for the pu r pose of obtaining equilibrium of pressure.

When using high-pressure steam operating through a wider range'ofexpansion than can be conveniently utilized in a single motor, the motorcan be compounded by employing two or more suitablyconstructeddrivingwheels operating in separate casings on the same or diflerentshafts,the steam being exhausted through the terminal port of the firstmotor to the admission-port of the second and so on until exhausted fromthe last motor of the series.

The rotational force of the engine is obtained as follows: The steam isadmitted centrally to the motor and, expanding radially between thecentral ring of stationary blades, strikes with the force of itsmomentum the central ring of moving blades on the drivingwheel, reactsthrough them against the next outwardly ring of stationary blades, whichin turn deflect the fluid against further outwardly-moving blades, andso on from ring to ring until the external space between the wheel andcasingis reached, whence by means of an exhaust-pipe it is conducted tothe next motor or to the air or a condenser.

By slightly modifying the construction and applying rotational force tothe shaft the engine may be used as an elastic-fluid compressor.

In the drawings. Figure 1 is a sectional view of the steam-turbinemotor, showing the relative positions of the various parts. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of a section of the drivingwheel and several of theblades or vanes. Fig. 3 is a sectional view .of a modification of thesteam-turbine motor, showing the blades or vanes on one side only. Fig.4 is a sectional perspective view of the driving-wheel. Fig.

5 is a sectional perspective view of one of the sides of the casing.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts throughout thespecification and drawings.

The driving-wheel A consists of a disk-like body or web a and a hub a,integrally formed with the body or web, having a central bore a",through which passes the shaft B, keyed or otherwise fastened to the hubin order that it will rotate unitedly with the driving-wheel. Formed ineach side face of the web a are a series of concentric channels orgrooves 0, each of which is adapted to receive a set of blades or vanesD. Each set of blades or vanes consists of a ribbon of thin sheet-steel(though any other metal suitable for the purpose may be used) cut andbent to the requisite shape to form the blades or vanes which project.outwardly from the body of the ribbon in such a manner that when theyare in position on the driving-wheel they will curve in a line secant tothe circle of revolution. Although a specified numberof sets of bladesor vanes have been shown in the drawings, it is not intended that theinvention should be confined to any particular number, as thedriving-wheel may be provided with any 11 umber of sets to meet therequirements for which the motor is intended.

Inclosing the driving-wheel and a portion of the shaft is the body E ofthe casing, the inner faces of which are arched or convexed toward theside faces of the driving-wheel,and projecting equally beyond both sidesof the body E is a central enlargement F. The inner face of each of theopposite sides e e of the casing is provided with concentric channelsGr, similar to the channels in the side faces of the disk and soarranged as to be opposed to the spaces c,intervening between thechannels 0.

, Contained in each channel G is a set of blades or vanes H,respectively corresponding with the blades or vanes connected to theside faces of the driving-wheel, but projecting in the reverse directionand inclined as to their Width in a direction opposed to the inclinationof the moving vanes. The blades or vanes of the first sets connected tothe sides of the casing are interposed between the hub and first sets ofblades or vanes connected to the driving-wheel, the second sets ofblades or vanes connected to the casing being interposed between thefirst and the second sets of the driving-wheel, and so on outwardly tothe last successive sets, with sufficient clearance only between them toallow ofv the free rotation of the moving blades or vanes.

Formed through the enlargementF on each side of the body E is an openingI, communieating with a steam-pipe J, and formed in the sides of theenlargement F are bearings K for the shaft B. Steam is admitted to thecenter of the enlargement F on each side of the driving-wheel with acomparatively high initial pressure and expanding radially acts upon thefixed blades or vanes of the first set, from which it is deflectedagainst the first set of moving blades or vanes with sufficient forceand velocity .to cause their rotation, and so on out-ward against eachset of fixed and moving vanes in succession until it has passed the lastset, after which it is exhausted through the exhaust-pipe L, connectedto the outer part of the casing E.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3 the motor would be subjected to aforce having a tendency to move the driving-wheel laterally and cause anend movement of the shaft. In order to check this end thrust, the shaftis provided with thrust-collars M, Which act against the bearings forthe shaft.

As the velocity with which an elastic fluid under compression will flowfrom one vessel into another depends upon the density of the fluid inthe discharging vessel and the difference in pressure between thevessels, it may be conceived that in a series of connected vesselsdischarging from one to another if the pressure in the first and lastvessels of the series he kept constant and the area of thedischarge-orifices of all the vessels be properly adjusted the flow offluid through the series of vessels from the highest pressure to thelowest may be maintained at an even rate, or, if desired, at aconstantly-increasing velocity. In the application of this principle .tothe engine which is the subject of this invention the centralsteam-space of the engine is the first vessel of the series whosedischarge-orifice is the port area at the tips of the central ring ofstationary blades. The space occupied by the central ring of rotatingblades is the next vessel of the series, that occupied by the nextoutwardly ring of stationary blades the third vessel, and so on to theexternal space between the periphery of the wheel and the casing, whichis the last vessel of the series, the port area at the tips of each ringbeing the dischargeorifice of the vessel whose space the ring occupies.

To preserve equality of'action of the steam on the blades in thedifferent concentric circles, one of two sets of conditions must exist.Either the inclination of the blades must approach more and more nearlya right angle to the disk radii passing through them as the distance ofthe blades from the center of the disk increases and the velocity offlow of steam be uniform at all points or the velocity of the fiow ofsteam must increase as it gets farther away from the center of the diskand the inclination of the blades be uniform throughout or the twoconditions may coexist toa modified extent. 'lhisincrease in thevelocity of the steam must be brought about by having the ratio betweenthe area of the port-openings between the blades of the successivecircles and the volume of steam passing through them decrease as thesteam gets farther and farther from the center of the disk. The area ofthese port-openings may be controlled by making the blades in thesuccessive circles thicker or thinner and so reducing orincreasing thespace between them or by varying the length of the blades and bringingthe opposing faces of disk and casing nearer together or farther apart.

I have illustrated a construction in which the inclination of the bladesis uniform throughoutthat is to say, all the blades set in the rotatingdisk have a common angle of inclination and all those set in thestationary disk also have a common angle of inclination. Consequentlythe speed of flow of the steam from center to circumference mustincrease as the distance from the center increases if the result soughtfor is to be securedthat is to say, if the radius of the first circle ofblades is ten inches and that of another circle of blades is twentyinches the steam must travel past the blades of the second circle with aradial velocity double that with which it travels past the blades in thefirst circle.

In the apparatus illustrated the blades on each disk are all of the samethickness. Consequently the area of port-openings for different circlesof blades will vary as the products of the circumference of each circleinto the length of the blades in that circle. The length of the bladesis determined by the distance between the opposing faces of therotat-ing disk and of the inclosing casing. If the distance betweenthese faces be the same at all points, the area of port-openings of thesecond circle of blades above selected would be double that of thefirst. In such case if the speed of radial flow of steam is also to bedoubled four times the volume of steam must pass through theport-openings between the second circle of blades as entered through thefirst circle. As a matter of fact, however, my calculations show thatwith an initial pressure of twenty pounds to the square inch at thefirst circle and an initial velocity of three hundred feet per second agiven quantity of steam would be expanded to only about double itsvolume by such a drop in pressure as would create a difference ofpressures sufficient to have doubled its velocity by the time it reachedthe twenty-inch circle of blades. Consequently if under the conditionsthus assumed the speed is to be doubled the volume of steam that mustpass through the ports having been doubled by expansion the area ofport-openings must be the same in the second circle as in the first.Since one dimension of the port-openings-the one in the direction of thecircumference of the circleis necessarily doubled on the second circleby the conditions of construction, the only way in which the area of theports can be maintained equal is by reducing the other dimensionthedistance between disk and casingby one-half. By doing that the result ofequal action of steam on the two sets of blades is secured. The sameprocess of calculation applied to the other circles of blades produces acurvature of the surfaces of one or both disks and consequent varyinglength of blades of the character shown in the drawings. While theequation of the curve varies for engines of different proportions andfor steam at different initial pressures and velocities,itsdistinguishing characteristic is that starting at the innermost circleit approachesthe opposing face for a certain distance, reaching itsnearest point at about the circle of double radius,and from that pointon begins to recede from the opposing face, the distance between theopposing faces increasing as the perimeter is approached.

The mode of operation of the invention is clear from the foregoingdescription and explanation. Steam being admitted at the hub throughpipe J flows to the perimeter at a velocity increasing as the radii ofthe successive circles of blades. As the successive sets of bladestravel across the line of motion of the steam at a circumferentialvelocity, also increasing as the radii of their respective circles, theaction of the steam will be the same on all the blades and the highestefficiency will result. The required uniform increase of speed of steamissecured in the apparatus illustrated by so varying the distancesbetween the opposing faces of the disk and the casing at differentdistances from the center that the ratio of the various Volumes ofexpanded steam to the area of port-openings through which eachparticular volume passes shall increase also as the distance from thecenter of the disk increases. This may be expressed in different termsby saying that the area of the port-openings in the successive circlesvaries as the ratio of the coeflicient of expansion of the steam passingthat point to the circumference or the radius of that circle, this beinga mere transformation of the E-IR to E=A Rand A=E equation A Where Erepresents the coefficient 'of expansion, A the area of theport-openings in any one circle, and R the radius of that circle.

Having therefore described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In aturbine motor the combination of the shaft, a driving'disk thereon, aseries of blades set in concentric circles on said disk parallel to thedriving-shaft and each inclined at a uniform angle to the radius of thedisk passing through it, acasing for said disk in which thedriving-shaft is journaled, a corresponding series of blades of oppositeinclination set in the inner face of the casing, each circle of bladesset in the disk running between two circles of blades set in the casing, asteam-inlet at the center of the casing,

and a stea nroutlet at the perimeter of the casing, the disk and casingbeing so shaped that the distances between them at different pointsshall vary so as to producesuch portopenings at the various circles ofblades that at every point the ratio of expansion of the steam to thearea of port-opening shall vary as the distance from the center of thedisk varies.

2. In a turbine motor, the combination of the shaft, a driving-diskthereon, a series of blades set in concentric circles on said diskparallel to the driving-shaft and each inclined at a uniform angle tothe radius of the disk passing through it, a casing for said disk inwhich the driving-shaft is journaled, a corresponding series of bladesof opposite inclination set in the inner face of the casing, each circleof blades set in the disk running between two circles of blades set inthe cas ing, a steam-inlet at the center of the casing and asteam-outlet at the perimeter of the casing, the disk and easing beingso shaped that the distance between them decreases in a curve whichbegins at the inner circle of blades, reaches its minimum at anintermediate circle of blades, and then increases as the perimeter ofthe disk is approached.

3. In a turbine motor, the combination of the shaft, a driving-diskthereon, a series of blades set in concentric circles on said diskparallel to the drivin -shaft and each inclined at a uniform angle totheradius of the disk passing through it, a casing for said disk inwhich the driving-shaft is journaled, a corresponding series of bladesof opposite incli nation set in the inner face of the casing, eachcircle of blades set in the disk running between two circles of bladesset in the easing, a steam-inlet at the center of the casing and asteam-outlet at the perimeter of the casing, the area of theport-openings in the successive circles of blades varying from the innerto the outer circle as the ratio of the coeificient of expansion ofsteam at any one circle of blades to the radius of said circle.

Barrie, Canada, March 30, A. D. 1899.

SAM. LOUNT.

In presence of HENRY HARPER, GEO. W. LOUNT.

